Big 12 Schools Academic Rankings

The Big 12 is in a state of flux as a conference. It was dominant athletically in the 2000s, with teams like Texas and Oklahoma regularly vying for — and winning — SEC football championships. But as of 2024, both schools have hightailed it out of the conference for the SEC.

The conference already lost two other members to the SEC (Missouri and Texas A&M), along with one school to the Big Ten (Nebraska) and one to the Pac-12 (CU-Boulder). These departures have hurt the conference both athletically and academically.

Luckily for the conference, it picked up four new members in 2024 to replace those it has lost in the last decade-plus. As a bonus, all four schools are upstarts in both athletics and academics. Below, we rank the schools of the reformulated Big 12 conference academically.

The schools of the Big 12 conference.

Table of Contents

Big 12 Schools Academic Rankings

Like U.S. News and other publications, we have our own proprietary formula for ranking schools by academics. However, our formula concentrates on different factors, as we believe many of the criteria considered by the big publications do not actually impact the quality of education a student receives.

For instance, U.S. News and other publications look at factors like alumni giving rates, the percentage of students receiving Pell grants and other need-based scholarships, and the percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students in them — a metric that is highly misleading (what if a school has a relatively high percentage of sub-20-student classes, but the rest have 500 or more?) and also easy to manipulate.

We instead rank schools based on quantifiable metrics that show top students are being admitted and given a high-quality, rigorous education. We focus heavily on graduation rates, incoming student metrics, the strength of specific programs and departments within the university, and measurable student outcomes.

With that said, our Big 12 schools academic rankings are as follows.

#1: Texas Christian University

  • Location: Fort Worth, TX
  • U.S. News ranking: #98
  • Acceptance rate: 56%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,140-1,360
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 26-31
  • Graduation rate: 83%

Texas Christian University is affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, but it’s a Christian school in name only. There are no required religious classes, students from all faiths are welcome to attend, and the party scene is much more robust than the church scene on campus.

That said, TCU has some strong academic chops as well. Its graduation rate of over 80% puts it well above the national average, and its incoming student stats are similarly strong. The school has a massive endowment, which is apparent from the moment you drive onto the campus — the facilities are something to behold.

A degree from TCU taps you into a network of highly successful and powerful alums living all over the country and the world. In the DFW Metroplex in particular, it’s even considered to be a bit of a golden ticket. For these reasons, TCU ranks first on our list of Big 12 schools ranked academically.

#2: Baylor University

  • Location: Waco, TX
  • U.S. News ranking: #93
  • Acceptance rate: 46%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,230-1,410
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 28-33
  • Graduation rate: 80%

Baylor University is known as the “Baptist Notre Dame.” It’s the most prestigious, selective, and well-known Baptist university in the country. It also isn’t nearly as religious in terms of the day-to-day life on campus as most people picture it. There is a solid party scene and Greek life, and although students are required to attend chapel, they can accumulate these hours via nonreligious seminars if they choose.

Baylor ranks second on our list because of its relatively strong incoming student stats, decent graduation rate, and strong student success outcomes. The school punches way above its weight in terms of turning out highly successful graduates.

#3: Brigham Young University

  • Location: Provo, UT
  • U.S. News ranking: #115
  • Acceptance rate: 67%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,280-1,468
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 27-32
  • Graduation rate: 77%

Brigham Young is one of four newcomers to the Big 12 in 2024. The Latter-Day Saints school in Provo, UT, has impressive incoming stats and a strong graduation rate that has to be considered in the context of the mission requirement for young men to remain in good standing with the church. All Mormon men embark on a two-year mission at age 19, effectively interrupting college for those who are enrolled. Without this factor, BYU’s graduation rate would undoubtedly be well over 80%.

Although BYU does not offer a typical college experience and certainly isn’t for everyone, its academics are highly regarded, and the school has a fantastic reputation with employers and graduate schools, particularly in the Mountain West.

#4: Iowa State University

  • Location: Ames, IA
  • U.S. News ranking: #115
  • Acceptance rate: 90%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,090-1,350
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 21-28
  • Graduation rate: 75%
Halftime at an Iowa State basketball game.

Iowa State has a football team on the rise, a surprisingly strong engineering department, and a fiercely loyal alumni base. It also comes in strong on its graduation rate, sending nearly three-quarters of its students across the stage within six years.

The school’s location in Ames, Iowa, attracts many students from the Chicago metro area. It’s often viewed as a safety school for students who can’t quite get into the more competitive engineering and computer science programs at the University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign (many of which have acceptance rates as low as 10%).

#5: University of Kansas

  • Location: Lawrence, KS
  • U.S. News ranking: #151
  • Acceptance rate: 88%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,090-1,340
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 21-28
  • Graduation rate: 66%

The University of Kansas is known for basketball, but it comes in surprisingly strong academically as well. Yes, the acceptance rate of 88% is approaching open-admission territory, but the university maintains its high standards despite giving an opportunity to many students who didn’t have top grades and test scores in high school. (This is also part of the reason for its unimpressive graduation rate.)

Where KU really shines is in its individual departments — particularly its programs in writing and journalism. KU’s J-school has turned out top reporters, and the university is the alma mater of several best-selling authors, including Gillian Flynn of Gone Girl (link to Amazon) fame.

#6: University of Central Florida

  • Location: Orlando, FL
  • U.S. News ranking: #124
  • Acceptance rate: 41%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,200-1,360
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 25-29
  • Graduation rate: 74%

UCF is riding a steep upward trajectory in both athletics and academics. A couple of decades ago, it was a commuter school that accepted anyone who could fog a mirror, and its football team was mostly known for playing money games against power schools on Homecoming (and getting whipped) to cash the big check. But they used that money to build up their program, which now regularly ranks in the top 25, and as the football program’s visibility has helped increase both the size and the quality of the applicant pool to the university, academic success has followed. It also hasn’t hurt the school that almost everyone seems to be moving to Florida these days.

Now that UCF is in a power conference, expect its good fortunes to continue and its rankings in both sports and smarts to keep rising.

#7: University of Cincinnati

  • Location: Cincinnati, OH
  • U.S. News ranking: #142
  • Acceptance rate: 86%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,160-1,360
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 24-29
  • Graduation rate: 72%

Like UCF, the University of Cincinnati was mostly a commuter school for decades, serving students from the metro area who often lived at home and worked part-time jobs off campus. But UC has seen an explosion of construction in recent years, with nice new dorms popping up alongside state-of-the-art academic and athletic facilities. With more kids wanting to attend college in thriving urban areas, city schools like UC are reaping the benefits.

UC’s recent athletic success, including a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021, helped vault the program into a Power conference.

#8: Oklahoma State University

  • Location: Stillwater, OK
  • U.S. News ranking: #185
  • Acceptance rate: 71%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,010-1,250
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 20-27
  • Graduation rate: 65%

Oklahoma State is located in the rural town of Stillwater and tends to attract more students from outside of the state’s two metropolitan areas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The most popular majors at “Okie State” are in the engineering and agricultural fields.

That said, the school also has a strong journalism program, so it attracts a lot of humanities students for that reason. Another thing the school has going for it is some of the nicest dorms in the Big 12.

#9: Kansas State University

  • Location: Manhattan, KS
  • U.S. News ranking: #170
  • Acceptance rate: 95%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: N/A
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 20-27
  • Graduation rate: 68%

Kansas State is the “ag” school for the state of Kansas. It’s located in the ironically named college town Manhattan, as the city is about as far from its namesake both literally and figuratively as you can get. The student body tends to come overwhelmingly from rural Kansas and leans conservative. The most popular majors are agriculture and engineering.

K-State has a rising graduation rate and strong student outcomes, particularly in the STEM fields. Because it admits 95% of its applicants, it’s a school that will give you a chance if you had some slip-ups in high school.

#10: University of Houston

  • Location: Houston, TX
  • U.S. News ranking: #133
  • Acceptance rate: 66%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,160-1,330
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 23-29
  • Graduation rate: 62%

Houston is yet another Big 12 newcomer that in recent decades has made a successful transition from commuter school to major university with both big-time sports and big-time academics. U.S. News ranks UH higher than a couple of schools we have listed above it here, and its incoming student stats might justify that ranking, but we placed it where we did because of its graduation rate. With only 6 out of 10 students walking the stage within six years of matriculating as freshmen, UH has a little work to do to catch up to Big 12 peers like OSU and KSU.

#11: Texas Tech University

  • Location: Lubbock, TX
  • U.S. News ranking: #216
  • Acceptance rate: 67%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,090-1,280
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 23-28
  • Graduation rate: 63%
Jones AT&T Stadium at Texas Tech University.
Jones AT&T Stadium at Texas Tech University.

Texas Tech has solid STEM programs, a thriving Honors College, and decent incoming student stats — actually a bit higher than several of the schools we ranked ahead of it. It loses points, however, for its low graduation rate. Barely 6 in 10 students make it across the stage within six years of starting college at Texas Tech.

If you can get into the honors program at TTU, you have it made. The first-year dorms for honors students are fantastic, and the university rolls out the red carpet for you in terms of class sign-up preference, academic advising, and other perks.

The Lubbock location turns off a lot of prospective students, which keeps TTU’s applicant pool from being as competitive as it otherwise might be. Lubbock is said to be “five hours from literally everywhere” due to its isolated location on the map.

#12: West Virginia University

  • Location: Morgantown, WV
  • U.S. News ranking: #216
  • Acceptance rate: 77%
  • Middle 50% SAT range: 1,000-1,220
  • Middle 50% ACT range: 20-26
  • Graduation rate: 61%

West Virginia University, which joined the Big 12 in 2012, coming over from the now-defunct Big East Conference, rounds out our list. It’s a shame we had to put it last, but unfortunately, someone had to be in this position, and WVU’s graduation rate of only 61% is what hurts it the most.

We say unfortunately because WVU has a lot of good things going for it. Because it represents such a small state with such a limited talent pool coming out of high school, it offers generous scholarships for out-of-state students — including full rides for students with high test scores and good high school grades. How long this program continues remains to be seen, however, as the school has had well-documented financial problems as of fall 2023 that have resulted in the slashing of several programs and majors.

That said, if you’re looking to attend college out of state for a great price, you might consider WVU. It’s also located about an hour from skiing and an hour from Pittsburgh, so you’ll have plenty of entertainment options should you decide to venture off campus.

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